Selwyn Village
by chinchilla30
Summary: Juliet and Lassiter must go undercover as a married couple expecting their first baby to solve a string of murders in a small suburban town.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my first fic. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych or any of the characters.

* * *

Shawn Spencer bustled into the crowded police station leaving his best friend trailing behind. He had promised Gus that they would be just quickly collecting their check and leaving on their two week trip to Las Vegas. But Shawn couldn't go to the police station without spending at least five minutes chatting up Juliet, and so he was trying to outrun his friend who was so insistent upon leaving.

Shawn skidded into the bullpen after jogging down the hallway and quickly scanned the room. Juliet was nowhere to be seen. Shawn sighed as Gus appeared at his side, giving him his patented death glare.

"Okay, okay. Lets get the check." Shawn held up his hands in defeat.

"Thank you." Gus turned and walked towards the chief's office.

It was then that Shawn noticed a strange woman sitting at Juliet's desk, typing away. Surely they couldn't have replaced her, Shawn thought. He quickly made his way over to scope out this new woman. As he neared the desk she brushed her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ear revealing a sparkling wedding ring. Dangling from her wrist was a bracelet Shawn had seen many times. The same bracelet that had belonged to Juliet's grandmother. Suddenly the woman turned to face him.

"Jules?!" Shawn gasped. As she turned he noticed something even more shocking. Her once taut stomach was oddly distended. Surely he would have noticed if Juliet was pregnant.

"What? How? What?" Shawn waved wildly at her appearance.

Juliet chuckled. "It's for a case, Shawn. Don't worry, I'm not really pregnant."

Shawn breathed a quick sigh of relief and cracked a smile. He heard Gus shout from behind him signaling it was time to collect their girlfriends and get on the road.

"Gus and I are going on a vacation." Shawn explained. "You'll just have to manage without us I guess. Though this case does look fascinating...maybe I can stay for a bit..."

"Don't even think about it Shawn." Gus admonished.

"Don't worry Shawn. We'll handle it, enjoy your vacation." Juliet smiled. Shawn opened his mouth to protest.

"Shawn!" Gus shouted again as he walked out of the building. "You promised!"

"Coming buddy!" Shawn gave Juliet another once-over. Oh how he wished he could stay for this one. Attempting to dispel his curiosity he waved to Juliet and followed Gus out the front door.

* * *

Juliet turned back to her computer. Just a few more pages of paperwork and they would be off. She glanced at the case file again. Three pregnant women had been found slain in an elementary school playground in nearby Selwyn Village. It had been a typical quiet residential neighborhood and all of the victims were close friends. For weeks the case had no leads, the previously crime-free neighborhood was shocked at the tragedy that had fallen on their community. Because the residents were such a tight knit group, few were willing to speak to the police. Finally giving into frustration, the Chief agreed to send Lassiter and Juliet in undercover in an attempt to break down the group and get some answers.

She opened the envelope on her desk pulling out her new drivers license. She and Lassiter would play Brad and Allison Jackson. They had just purchased a house in this neighborhood and were expecting their first baby. It was Juliet's job to join the local baby group and get to know the neighborhood women. Lassiter was posing as her lawyer husband. He had already signed them up for the country club where he could play golf with the neighbors. Juliet smiled and patted her fake stomach. This case would hopefully be somewhat fun, especially being able to see her partner as a doting husband. She hoped he could keep up the ruse.

Because Juliet had already visited the crime scene, she had been forced to drastically change her appearance. It had been difficult to part with her long blonde locks, but she found that the brown hair suited her. It made her look serious she thought. She liked serious.

She tapped her pen on the desk. She was getting impatient waiting for this case to begin. Lassiter had left over an hour earlier to pick up their new car. Her packed suitcase sat next to her on the floor.

"Ready O'Hara?" Said a voice suddenly from overhead. Juliet glanced up to see Detective Carlton Lassiter smiling and twirling a new set of car keys in his left hand, now sporting a matching wedding ring to hers.

"Is that what you're wearing?" she inquired, scanning his navy blue suit, crisp white shirt and classy tie.

"What?" he asked sheepishly. "This is what I always wear!"

"To work, Carlton. You always wear that to work."

"You said I could be a lawyer. Lawyer's wear suits."

"Yes, but not when they are helping their pregnant wives move into a house! It's okay. We'll stop at your place so you can change."

Lassiter grimaced, but decided to go along with it. After all, he certainly wasn't a marriage expert. He faced this case with as much determination as usual, but there still seemed to be something was bothering him. He wondered what it would be like to pretend that O'Hara was his wife. Sure, he could appreciate that she was a beautiful woman, but she was his partner. He'd always forced those sorts of thoughts out of his head in favor of a professional relationship. Lassiter hoped that they would be able to remain professional throughout this case, but he was starting to think that he wouldn't mind being in a relationship with his partner. This terrified him. It was with trepidation that he ultimately chose to don a form-fitting white t-shirt and the only pair of jeans that he owned.

Juliet smiled when Carlton emerged from his house and jogged towards the car. She so rarely saw her partner out of his work clothes, and he looked good dressed down. Really good. Juliet shook her head. _You will not become attracted to your partner_ she thought to herself. She smiled when Carlton got in the car.

"Ready?" She asked.

"As I'll ever be." He turned, patted her stomach (which earned him a giggle) and started the car.

* * *

When they pulled up to their new house, the neighbors were already standing outside waiting. Carlton crossed in front of the car to open the door for his wife and smiled at the couple standing in front of the door.

"Hello, and welcome to Selwyn Village! I'm Susan Monmouth, and this is my husband Jared." Said the bright woman standing at the front of the group. Her short blond hair was neatly tamed into a smooth bun and she wore a pink dress that accentuated her pregnant stomach. She looked like the typical suburban housewife. Her husband was no different in a button-up shirt and dress pants, he too smiled as he held out his hand.

Juliet smiled back at the couple. "I'm Allison Jackson, and this is my husband Brad." She shook hands with Susan. "We're so happy to be moving into this neighborhood." She added. She jumped slightly when she felt Carlton's hands rest on her shoulders.

"My Ally just fell in love with the house the moment she saw it." Lassiter smiled at the couple. Juliet turned to face him in shock at his truly sincere voice. Lassiter then added to the surprises by wrapping his arms around her waist. She liked this, it felt comfortable, like she just fit there. Her smile widened.

"And I see you are having a baby too!" Susan motioned at Juliet's belly and then at her own. "Is this your first?"

"Yes," Lassiter put his hands over her stomach, "We're so excited! And we just found out it's a girl!" Juliet was almost frightened by this strange doting man that had replaced her usually un-emotional tough partner.

The neighbors exchanged a few more pleasantries and then Juliet and Lassiter were able to enter their new home, which was full of moving boxes and a few pieces of furniture. Some of their friends on the force had partially furnished the home, but left it to Juliet to fully decorate. The duo ordered a pizza and started to unpack a few of their things.

It was not until after 11 pm that Juliet discovered there was only one bed in the house. Two bedrooms, but only one bed. She supposed that this was to keep up with the ruse in case the neighbors ventured upstairs. She glanced into the front room, it was painted a pale pink and a white crib stood against the far wall. A sudden warmth filled her body. Carlton appeared suddenly behind her.

"This room would be so great for my rifle collection!" he exclaimed. Her old partner was back. Juliet giggled.

"Oh but Brad honey, it's the baby's room!" Carlton just gave her a look of pure confusion.

"Oh, right." He left her side and trotted down the hallway to the master bedroom. By the time Juliet reached him he had already removed his shoes and was unbuttoning his pants.

"Woah, woah!" She exclaimed. "We should probably talk about this first."

He again looked confused. "We're professional partners O'Hara, I'm sure we can share a bed without anything happening." He finished unzipping his pants and pulled them off. He stood clad only in the white t-shirt and a pair of blue boxers. Juliet couldn't help but steal a glance as he folded the jeans carefully and laid them on the chair next to the bed. He pulled a clean shirt out of his suitcase and changed into it, climbing swiftly under the covers. He was obviously waiting for her to join.

Juliet sighed and began to remove her jewelry. She slipped her shoes off and pulled a silk nightgown out of her bag. Not one to strip in front of her partner, Juliet brought her pajamas with her into the bathroom. She slowly removed her makeup and brushed her teeth. When she got to changing into her pajamas, she realized something embarrassing. The detective that had fitted her with the fake pregnancy belly had neglected to tell her it both fastened and zipped in the back making it nearly impossible to remove on her own. She was standing in only a bra and panties and had no choice but to call Carlton in to help.

When he opened the door he initially gaped at her in surprise, but quickly unzipped her. She quickly tore the cumbersome thing off, and breathed a sigh of relief. When she turned to thank him he was already back in bed. She pulled the nightgown over her head and went back into the bedroom. She was sure she had seen him blush when he opened the bathroom door. Perhaps he did have feelings for her? She shrugged off the thought and got into bed next to her partner.

"Good night, O'Hara" he said gruffly and flicked off the light on his side. She settled down between the sheets and felt the warmth radiating from his side. This was certainly going to be an interesting case, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, thanks so much for the wonderful reviews! I'm so happy that everyone likes the story. I'm starting to think it's going to turn out a bit longer than I suspected.

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych or any of its characters…wish I did!

The next morning Juliet woke up shivering. Eyes still closed she felt around for her partner but the bed was empty. She opened her eyes and then quickly shielded them from the light pouring in from the windows. She wondered what time it was, if she had missed her "husband" going off to work. It was then that she heard a sound coming from downstairs.

Wrapping her pink robe around her, Juliet padded down the stairs and into the bright kitchen. Carlton Lassiter was standing there, fully dressed, flipping pancakes in a pan on the stove.

"You made me breakfast?" Juliet squealed with delight.

"It's a husband's job." Lassiter shrugged. Giving him a quick hug, Juliet grabbed the plate sitting next to the stove and brought it to the waiting orange juice at the table. She grinned as she dug in. Lassiter turned off the stove and leaned against the counter, sipping coffee and watching her enjoy her breakfast. _She looks so beautiful_ he thought, watching her tuck her ruffled dark hair behind her ears. He missed the cascading blonde locks that used to bounce when she laughed. His eyes widened. He had to stop thinking about his partner in this way.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Juliet looked up to see her partner regarding her with an odd expression on his face.

"Aren't you eating some too?" She inquired. Lassiter shook his head.

"Already ate a power bar and went for a run. But you enjoy." Juliet gave him another bright smile.

"So what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, I'm going to the station to do some more research into these murders. It's up to you to get these neighborhood women to talk."

Juliet nodded.

"Before you leave though, help me get that silly pregnancy stomach back on would you?"

* * *

Safely strapped into her fake belly, Juliet walked Carlton to the front door.

"Call me if you find anything." He nodded. Suddenly he darted his head to the left and right. Juliet saw that all of the neighborhood men were leaving for work at the same time. Each one was standing at the door kissing their respective wives goodbye. As if on cue, Lassiter leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. It felt like a shock had gone through both of their bodies. Startled, Juliet opened her mouth to say something but no words came out.

"Bye honey, have a good day!" Lassiter patted her stomach and crossed the driveway to climb into the car.

Juliet forced a smile as she watched her partner drive away. Perhaps she would be the one who needed to work on staying in character.

* * *

Donning a flowered dress and pulling her hair back into a bow, Juliet felt ready to visit her new neighbors. She hustled across the front yard and knocked on Susan Mounmouth's front door. From inside she could hear shouting, the sounds of children playing. Susan pulled the door open with a crying boy no older than three balanced on her hip.

"Oh, Allison! Come in dear, come in! I'm just trying to get the kids ready for school." Juliet smiled at her and the little boy in her arms. "This little one is Riley, and my oldest is Mark, he's 7. Mark!" She called, "It's time for school lets go!"

"They're so precious." Juliet smiled rubbing her stomach. "I can't wait to get our little one off to school."

Grabbing lunchboxes off the counter Susan laughed, "It's definitely a job, but I love being here with them. Have you thought of any names for the little one?"

Juliet froze, this wasn't one of the details in the case file. Suddenly she remembered Lassiter's beloved grandmother's name.

"We're going to name her Ellie." She said, making a mental not to let Lassiter know later.

"Oh that's so nice!" Susan shouted over Riley's cries. "If you come with me to drop the kids off I'll take you over to our special workout group, just for pregnant women. I'm sure you'll fit right in."

Juliet jumped at the chance.

"Do you need any help with them?" Juliet waved at the kids. Susan immediately handed her the little boy on her hip and gathered up her other son's things.

"Thanks!" she shouted over her shoulder, hustling the older boy out the front door and into the waiting minivan. Juliet followed her carrying the surprisingly heavy preschooler.

"Your stomach is squishy." Riley said, patting her fake belly. Juliet's eyes widened and quickly placed the boy on the ground.

"Your mom says its time for school, are you excited?" She changed the subject.

- - - - - - - -

After dropping the kids off Juliet and Susan made idle small talk in the car on the way to Susan's class. Juliet was thrilled she was being included in this group so quickly.

"You and Brad must join the class," Susan chirped, "Caroline is the most wonderful coach, she helped me get through the births of my boys. She's got three grown children, lives just up the block there. Her husband is a neurosurgeon."

Juliet nodded along, excited to meet this new group of women. Perhaps they would have some input into the case. As Susan pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall, Juliet could see a small group of pregnant woman chatting outside a café.

"Her studio is upstairs," Susan explained, "But this café is great, we can all get herbal tea afterwards!"

"I love herbal tea." Juliet exclaimed, perhaps a little to excitedly as Susan gave her a sideways glance. She exited the car and made her way up to the small group of women.

"Ladies," Susan interrupted the chatter, "This is my new neighbor, Allison Jackson. She and her husband are expecting their first this fall! I hope you don't mind that I brought her along."

Together the women exchanged squeals of delight at another woman joining their group. They each reached out to hug Juliet gently and exchange pleasantries. In a matter of minutes Juliet was introduced to Isabelle Moore, a petit bubbly blond woman who was once an elementary school teacher. She had given up her career in favor of starting a large family with her doctor husband. They were expecting their fifth baby. Cara Logan, young, bright and new to the neighborhood, Cara eagerly shared her dream of becoming a yoga instructor after her baby was born. Rachel Daniels, a former professor of history who now ran her own coffee shop with her husband. And finally Anna Comey, seemingly the outsider of the group. Had she not been Cara's cousin, Juliet doubted she would be included. Anna was quiet, and heavier than the other women. Her hug for Juliet was brief. She looked extremely uncomfortable to be included in such a superficial conversation.

Once Juliet had been introduced, the women returned to their previous conversation, filling Susan in on the happenings of the neighborhood.

"I caught him, staring at me through the window again!" Isabelle exclaimed. "That man is practically a sex offender how can the township let him live in our neighborhood?"

"I know," Cara agreed, "It's despicable. It scares me that he is so near the children."

"I'm sorry," Juliet interrupted, "Who are we talking about?"

"Oh dear, I forgot you were new!" Susan exclaimed. "There's this man, Miles Bennison. He lives next to Isabelle, all alone. He's the scariest man I've ever seen. Always peeking from behind the curtains. I've been in his house once, its so dark and dank. The man should be forcibly removed from this place!"

Rachel nodded vehemently in agreement, "If I didn't know better, it was Miles that committed those murders!"

A silence fell over the women. Rachel looked shocked at her own words.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Susan put her hand on Rachel's shoulder, "It's alright Rachel, could have happened to any of us."

"Murders?" Juliet inquired again.

"Three of our friends were tragically killed a few months ago, all of them were pregnant." Susan explained. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'd rather not discuss it actually, it was a difficult time for all of us."

Juliet nodded and offered Susan a comforting hug.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Susan. All of you really. What a terrible tragedy."

Susan wiped the tears from her eyes.

"But lets not dwell, come along upstairs for our class!" She pulled Juliet along behind her as the women climbed the stairs to Caroline's studio.

Caroline Smith turned out to be a kind woman in her late 40's who lead a unique workout session for the pregnant women in the neighborhood. Because she was already so fit, Juliet had no problem keeping up. She actually enjoyed the class immensely. Caroline provided a warm friendly environment and offered many helpful tips.

As they were leaving, Caroline drew her aside.

"Allison, you did so wonderful today! You and your husband must join my Lamaze class. We meet tomorrow night." Juliet nodded enthusiastically.

"I had a wonderful time Caroline! I'll see you tomorrow."

After the class was over, Juliet joined Susan in the car, and accompanied her on her afternoon errands. During a trip to pick up Jared's new suits, she purchased her own fake husband a new gray-blue sweater which she thought would match his eyes perfectly. Susan approved.

When they pulled back into Susan's driveway after picking up the kids from soccer practice, it was nearly 5 o'clock.

"Oh where did the day go?" Susan shrieked. "You and Brad _must_ come over for dinner tonight! I'm making my patented baked ziti."

Juliet smiled widely, "Oh Susan, you've been so wonderful all day. Thank you! What time should we be over?"

"I'd say around seven thirty." Susan said, "That will give me time to feed the kids first."

Juliet parted ways with her neighbor, and crossed the lawn to her own house. The woman was really beginning to grow on her. Once inside, Juliet removed all of the notes she'd taken on the neighborhood loner, Miles Bennison from her purse. She needed to ask Lassiter to run a background check once he got home.

Twenty minutes later her doting "husband" walked through the door.

She heard a sarcastic call of "Honey, I'm home!" come from the front hall and she practically ran to greet him.

"How was your day? Find out anything?" She inquired.

Lassiter nodded enthusiastically. "Indeed I did, O'Hara. After some major research I found out there is a registered sex offender in this neighborhood. I spent the day going through his records, he has been arrested for assaulting numerous pregnant women." Juliet paled.

"I think we've got our guy." He finished.

"Is his name Miles Bennison by any chance?" She inquired.

"What? How did you do that O'Hara? Are you channeling Spencer now?"

Juliet giggled. "No, but I spent the day with Susan Monmouth and her friends, he's the talk of the town."

"Good." Lassiter added. "Find out anything else before we run over there and arrest him?"

"We can't just yet Carlton, it's only an assumption. Lets keep him under surveillance for now. Besides, we have dinner plans."

"We do?"

"Yes, at the Monmouth's."

"Fine," Lassiter agreed. "Let's go."

"Not like that!" Juliet waved at his suit. "I bought you a present today!" she suddenly remembered, and ran to get the sweater.

"It's nice, thank you." Lassiter said, turning it over in his hands.

"Well aren't you going to put it on?" She inquired. Lassiter sighed and trooped up to the bedroom to change. He reappeared minutes later wearing the sweater and a pair of dark jeans. There was an odd bulge just under his left arm.

"What is that?" Juliet inquired, pointing at the bulge.

"I'm going to wear a jacket, don't worry O'Hara."

"You are _not_ wearing your holster to dinner at our neighbors house, Lassiter."

"But! I always wear it!"

"No!" She shrieked, and pulled up the sweater to detach it. Lassiter froze. It was at that moment that Juliet realized that snaking her hands up her partners' shirt was probably wildly inappropriate. Nevertheless, she retrieved the gun and took a step back, placing it on the kitchen counter.

"Sorry," she muttered quietly.

"No problem." He answered gruffly, straightening out his sweater. "Let's go shall we?" 

As they exited the house and began the walk across the yard, Lassiter reached down and took her hand. It was a simple gesture, but suddenly Juliet's entire body felt red hot. She really had a crush on this man, she thought, as they neared the Monmouth's door. As Lassiter reached up to knock, Juliet pulled his hand down in hesitation.

"Wait," she said quietly, moving her hand to his face. Slowly she reached up and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Their eyes closed as the electricity shot through their bodies.

"Juliet…" Lassiter murmured. The use of her first name only spurred her on as Juliet moved to deepen the kiss. "Wait," he added. She quickly pulled back, alarmed.

"Carlton, I'm..I'm so sorry." She stammered. "I didn't realize you wouldn't feel the same way."

"It's not that." He smiled. "It's just that once you start, I don't think I can stop." Juliet beamed. He pointed to the door. "Dinner first," he reminded her. "We'll deal with that later."

Juliet turned back to the Monmouth's front door as Lassiter knocked. Her whole body was filled with intense excitement. This was going to be the longest dinner of her life.

- - - - - - - - -

A/N: Hope you liked it! More to come soon.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! Hope you like this chapter, I know I enjoyed writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych or any of it's characters..blah blah.

* * *

Juliet fidgeted under the table as "Brad" made small talk with Jared Monmouth. Susan had insisted on serving dessert alone. Whenever she could she stole sideways glances at her partner, hoping for some sort of response. She tried to concentrate on the case, but couldn't find anything to ask. The only thing going through her head was what was going to happen when she and Lassiter got home that evening.

She couldn't believe he was so good at keeping in character. Perhaps he had taken some acting classes she wasn't aware of. No one would ever suspect that Carlton Lassiter would be a good undercover cop, especially in this situation. The man could barely keep his cool in tough situations. To most of the department (except for a select few) he was also devoid of emotion.

Suddenly the two men were laughing. Juliet perked her ears up to listen to the conversation.

"And then.." Jared Monmouth sputtered, "he let seventy chickens go in the town hall!" Lassiter joined in Jared's raucous laughter. Juliet attempted to smile.

"So," she started, "Susan tells me there is a bit of neighborhood drama surrounding Isabelle Moore's neighbor." The laughter stopped.

"Yeah, that guy is a real ass, scaring all of the women." Jared shook his head, "If I wouldn't be taken in for assault I think I'd go over there and give him a piece of my mind."

"The women here seem to suspect he's up to more than just looking." Juliet added.

Jared paled. "Oh, you're talking about… Yes, it's easy to presume it was Miles given his past but I think he's innocent."

Juliet noticed Jared had begun to sweat. Obviously he knew more then he was letting on. She exchanged a quick glance with her partner.

Lassiter cleared his throat.

"You okay buddy?" Jared nodded and forced a smile.

"So!" Jared changed the subject, "When is little Ellie due? Susan tells me you're quite excited."

"Ellie?" Lassiter looked confused.

"Oh!" Juliet exclaimed, "Um, in August. We're so excited." She quickly rubbed her stomach. "Honey, I forgot to tell you I decided on a name today." She turned to Lassiter, praying he would play along.

"You remembered…" his voice trailed off. Juliet couldn't read the look on his face, but it almost made it seem like he was completely touched, but Lassiter didn't react in this way to anything.

Jared smiled, "If Susan has a girl she wants to name her Juliet." Both Lassiter and Juliet choked on the water they were attempting to drink.

"What did you say?" Lassiter demanded.

"Um, Juliet. We thought it was pretty. You hate it?"

"Oh, no no no. It's a beautiful name!" Juliet insisted. "We were actually arguing the other day over that name. It was going to be Ellie or Juliet. So ironic!"

Jared laughed nervously. Luckily at that moment Susan entered the room with dessert.

"Here, let me help you." Juliet stood to take two of the dishes in Susan's arms.

"We were just talking about baby names honey," Jared explained. "Allison and Brad like Juliet too."

Susan beamed. "Oh, I just adore the name! If it's another boy though we really like Sean."

Juliet and Lassiter exchanged another glance.

"So, how about that football game yesterday!" Lassiter started, desperate to change the subject.

* * *

The rest of the dinner continued uneventfully, but it was nearly midnight when Lassiter and Juliet were finally walking quietly back to their own house.

Lassiter held the door open for her, and they went about hanging up their coats. Soon the two partners stood in silence in their living room.

"So," Juliet began. "Do we still think its Bennison then?" Lassiter looked relieved to be talking about the case.

"I'm pretty sure," he said. "The guy seemed to make Jared pretty nervous. Plus his history fits the profile."

"Sounds like you should bring him in tomorrow for questioning."

Lassiter nodded. "Already set up."

"So, I guess we should go to bed then." Juliet nervously started up the stairs. After a few moments it was obvious her partner wasn't following.

"Aren't you coming to bed?" She asked, turning to face him. He was observing her in a very strange way.

Finally, he spoke. "In a moment, just have to finish up some paperwork."

"Okay." It was barely a word, more like a whisper filled with disappointment. Slowly Juliet made her way to the bedroom and began to undress. After a few minutes she felt like someone was watching her. She turned to see Lassiter leaning against the doorframe.

"Carlton?" She started to ask. He quickly crossed the room and put a finger to her lips.

"Shh, just let me say this." Juliet nodded.

"I, well, I don't know how to approach this, this _thing_ between us. Obviously it is against the rules. Also, there's a bit of an age difference here. I don't want to take advantage of you. And most of all I don't want to ruin this great partnership we have going…" he sighed and looked into her eyes, "I've never had anyone in my life like you before."

Juliet's heart leapt. She again reached up to give him a soft kiss. "That's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me before." She felt Lassiter smile against her lips.

The kiss quickly intensified, their tongues thrashing together as the heat between them built. In a manner of minutes Juliet was pressed between her partner and their bedroom wall as he sucked hungrily on her neck. He leaned back to pull her nightgown over her head, laughing quietly that she was still wearing the fake stomach. He reached behind to unzip it, letting the cumbersome thing fall to the floor.

_God, he's just so good at this_. Juliet thought as she moaned quietly. This seemed to spur him on and he tangled his hands in her hair, going in for another deep kiss. Juliet squealed when he picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

As she was pulling his sweater over his head, they were interrupted by the ring of his cell phone. Juliet froze as Lassiter drew the phone out to look at the Caller ID.

"It's the station…" he groaned, he set her down on the floor and flipped the phone open.

"Make this quick!" he growled into the receiver. He listened quietly then, and sat down on the bed kneading his temples.

"Yeah, okay. We'll be right there." He flipped the phone shut. Suddenly extremely uncomfortable, Juliet reached for her discarded nightgown to cover herself up.

"What's going on? They have a lead?" Juliet asked as she pulled it over her head.

"No," Lassiter slowly shook his head. "They found another body."

Juliet's stomach twisted in knots, she thought of Susan and her new friends. Surely they were safe.

Lassiter looked at the floor. For the first time that she could remember, he was actually struggling with telling her something.

"It's Cara Logan," he said quietly. "They found her by the playground gate." Juliet gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Tears formed in her eyes. It was such a silly reaction given that she'd only known Cara for a few hours but she felt close to these women. She wondered if Susan and her friends could take another shock like this.

"Are you alright?" She noticed that Lassiter had stood up and was waiting to offer comfort. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace, rocking her slowly.

"I'm sorry," Juliet managed to get out, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I don't usually react like this, its just with the case and with _us_ it's a lot to take in you know?"

"Listen, about this thing we're doing here." Lassiter began, "maybe we should wait until the case is over? Just so we don't break focus here. Obviously this lunatic isn't going to keep killing and we need to solve this fast."

Even though what he said was completely logical, Juliet was still incredibly disappointed. She hoped they would be able to pick up where the left off in a few days, but she wasn't so sure.

It was so comforting in his arms, she thought, as he rubbed circles on her back.

"Come on," he said, kissing the top of her head. "We gotta go."

* * *

Ten minutes later, they arrived on the scene and flashed their badges. It was odd to be back to their normal routine after playing house for a few days.

As they approached the body Juliet could now see Cara's distorted face clearly. She stopped walking.

"Carlton, I can't." He turned and stared at her, searching her face.

"Okay, O'Hara. I got this." He left her standing by the gate of the playground to examine the body. Juliet tried to calm herself down. She couldn't understand why the situation was making her so upset. After her breathing had returned to normal, she walked over to examine the new police files. Soon, her partner was by her side.

"Strangled, just like the other three. I think we've definitely got a serial killer on our hands." Juliet nodded.

"Anything different with this one?" she inquired.

"Actually, yes." Lassiter held up an evidence bag. Inside was a crushed roll of film. Juliet took the bag from him, examining the roll.

"Can we get anything from this?"

"Probably, but that's not the point. Miles Bennison was caught because he took pictures of his victims, constantly." Juliet turned to face him, her eyes widened. "Time to bring that son of a bitch in." Lassiter had fully moved to cop mode, Juliet recognized the glimmer of excitement in his eyes at the idea of dragging a perp in for questioning.

"Let's go."

Filled with determination, Juliet followed her partner to their squad car ready to drag Bennison in.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks again for all the great reviews guys! Sorry it took me so long to update, lots of crazy school stuff to do. How 'bout that finale?

Disclaimer: Psych isn't mine… boo.

* * *

When they arrived at Miles Bennison's house the place was already swarming with local police. He had been cuffed and was laying in his driveway, the terrified neighbors looking on.

Juliet noticed a man shielding his wife in the neighboring yard, their children peeking through the living room windows.

_The neighbors…_ Juliet thought. She had just recognized the woman, it was Isabelle Moore from her baby class. Juliet turned and rushed back to the car, afraid that Isabelle had perhaps recognized her. Juliet hoped she hadn't ruined their investigation.

When Lassiter reached Bennison he turned to find that his partner was nowhere to be seen.

"O'Hara?" he called, glancing around.

"She's in the car man," McNabb was pulling Bennison up from the ground to be loaded into the cruiser.

A forensics team was already halfway through emptying his house into evidence boxes. Bennison looked on with a grimace.

"I swear guys, I swear I'm innocent!"

"They all say that," growled Lassiter as he dragged the man to his cruiser, wondering what had caused Juliet to hurry back to the car.

Once Bennison was packed up, Lassiter got back to his own car to drive to the station.

"What happened back there?" Lassiter questioned. Then he noticed Juliet was folded in half, hiding from the scene. In addition, she was using his jacket to cover her hair. He pulled her upright and looked into her frantic face.

"Okay, what the hell is going on? Is this because of earlier? Because this is what I was worried about, involvement between the two of us screwing up our work life. It figures, as soon as I'm attracted to a woman, something has to stand in the way of-"

"No! It's not that!" She interjected. "It's just, I know that woman back there, the neighbor. She's in my baby group." Lassiter's eyes widened and he swiveled around to get a better look.

"Shit!" He exclaimed. "Was your cover blown?"

Juliet shook her head.

"She didn't see me, don't worry. Let's just get going to the station. I want to question this guy already."

Lassiter nodded and started the car.

It wasn't until they had been driving for close to half an hour when Juliet glanced over to see him gripping the steering wheel like they were in a sinking ship. She smiled, and reached over and squeezed his thigh gently.

"What you said before," she began, "Don't worry about it, I promise anything that happens won't change our professional relationship. Though on a personal note, you really have to loosen up." She smiled at him.

"If you know me at all, you know I am anything but loose," he said gruffly. Juliet giggled.

"Stop hanging out with Spencer! You're picking up his sense of humor." Juliet spent the rest of the ride in fits of laughter.

* * *

They arrived at the station and bustled quickly into the interrogation room, ready to get a confession out of the man who had supposedly brutally murdered four pregnant women.

But Bennison didn't look like a criminal. He was short and thin. His baby-like face was covered in freckles to match his curly brown hair. He wore ratty brown corduroys paired with loafers and an argyle sweater. Juliet noted that this appearance was much more fitting of a college literature professor than a creepy photographer. Had it not been for the eerie twitch in his cheek she might have been tempted to have tea with him and discuss Proust.

"I'm innocent!" he shrieked as soon as Lassiter and Juliet took their seats.

Juliet glanced at her partner. His face was etched into the expression he always wore when he interrogated. It was a mixture of hostility and pleasure, a combination only Carlton Lassiter could exert. He was ready to berate this man into a confession using only his voice and a carefully constructed menacing walk around the room. Juliet had seen this in action many times, and truthfully it was what turned her on most about her partner.

Sure most girls liked men with a soft side, but there was something different about the way Carlton held himself during interrogations. If she had to pinpoint it, it was probably the unabashed confidence in his speech.

"So," he began. Juliet suppressed the urge to smile at her partner. "You like to take pictures of the neighborhood women?"

Bennison rapidly shook his head. "I like to observe them, sure. But it's the dogs I love. I love taking pictures of those dogs."

"Dogs?" Juliet could see Lassiter had just suppressed a great deal of surprise in his voice.

"Yes. My house is full of pictures of them. I'm allergic you see, but I can still collect. I have so very many pictures. I'll show you if you like."

Lassiter shook his head.

"I need to know where you were earlier this evening Mr. Bennison, between the hours of 7 and 9 PM."

"I was outside the pet store where I am every Tuesday night," Bennison answered quickly.

"I look through the windows at all of the new puppies they get there every week! Every night I dream about those dogs…" He trailed off and a smile formed on his face.

Lassiter looked disgusted. This guy was just off his rocker, not the psychopath they were looking for. Juliet watched him leave the room, slamming the door behind him. She turned back to Bennison who was busily making puppy noises to demonstrate for her. Shaking her head, she headed into the bullpen after Lassiter.

* * *

When she finally found him, he was leaning against the door to the copy room, roughly massaging his temples. Tucked under his arm was a manila folder.

Juliet carefully touched his arm. He opened his eyes to glance at her, but didn't stop what he was doing only offering a slight grunt of acknowledgement. Juliet knew he was exhausted, this was the first lead they'd had in weeks and the undercover work had to be hard on him. Not to mention the stress over whatever was developing between the two of them. She realized then that they couldn't be together until this case was wrapped, it would kill him.

Gathering her resolve, she pulled the envelope from under his arm. Inside was what was left of the film from Bennison's camera. Sure enough, dozens of pictures of the neighborhood dogs filled the envelope. She replaced the evidence, and gently tugged on Carlton's arm.

"Come on, let's go home. We'll stop and get a milkshake on the way." His mouth twitched upwards slightly at the corners, but his eyes remained sad. Reluctantly he followed her out to the car, and didn't even protest when she climbed in the drivers side. If she wasn't so concerned about his mental state Juliet probably would have keeled over in shock at this development.

They drove in silence, and she stole glances at him whenever she could. Lassiter had rested his head on the window and spent the time watching the scenery pass them by. Even after she thrust a strawberry milkshake in his hands he didn't say a word.

When they finally reached the house, it was nearly 4 AM. They trekked quietly inside, and Lassiter merely leaned against the door jam to the living room while Juliet hung her coat and disposed of the milkshake cups. When she returned to the hallway she noticed he was staring at her, his steely blue eyes locked into her baby blues.

"Alright, what gives Carlton? You've been silent for too long."

His response to this was to begin pacing the room with determination. Juliet observed this bizarre behavior with trepidation; she wondered what in the hell was going through his mind.

"It's, it's just! This case!" He was yelling. Yelling, and pacing faster. Juliet backed towards the stairs.

"I can't figure out what is going on, I just can't! I read and read all day and I interview and I investigate and I work my ass off. But no matter what I'll never be as good as Spencer, and I apparently can't stop this guy from going on a mad killing spree!" He was waving his arms now.

Juliet softened, she wanted to hug him but figured that was a bad move at this moment. Instead she just followed his movements.

"And that's not even the worst part!" She raised her eyebrows, waiting for a Lassiter-style berating of Shawn to begin. To her surprise, that was not where his train of thought was heading.

"There's you!" He yelped, waving in her direction.

"You, you stand there and you look at me or you smile or you laugh and all I can think about is how beautiful you are just all the fucking time. I'm supposed to be a good cop, good cops do NOT fall for their partners! And I have fallen for TWO!" He held up his fingers to show her.

Juliet's mouth was hanging as she watched him continue his tirade.

"What in god's name am I supposed to do about this? You're my partner, I can't take advantage of you, I can't! But all I want to do is take you upstairs and, and…" He trailed off.

The pacing had stopped as well. Juliet just stood there, waiting for him to pick up his rant again but it wasn't happening.

He took a deep breath and quickly moved towards her, pinning her against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes searched hers for some sort of validation; apparently he found it because before she knew it his mouth had covered hers.

Their lips thrashed together roughly. This kiss was harsher than the previous ones; it was filled with want, with need. His tongue traced each of her teeth, and she felt his hands running down her back in smooth patterns. Leaving aside the moral issues with this situation, Carlton was very, _very_ good at this. Every fiber in her being wanted to pull him upstairs to their bedroom and do things to him that partners should never do. But the voice of reason sounded the alarm sometime around the point that his nimble fingers were unclasping her bra.

"_Carlton,_" she whispered between kisses. _"_We shouldn't, I mean not now with…" He pulled back and quickly searched her face. A look of horror washed over his.

She weakly smiled at him in response, his shirt was halfway opened and his hair was incredibly messy, her own work of course.

"What am I doing?" He backed away from her quickly, the question hanging in the air between them.

Juliet shook her head, attempting to reassure him.

"I'm not saying never Carlton, I'm certainly not. Just, not now. We need to focus on this case and we can't do that when we're starting well, _this_."

"We shouldn't have even been starting _this_ in the first place!" he exclaimed. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight, don't worry. We'll just forget this ever happened." He turned and walked into the living room and she watched him go. Her heart sunk, what had she done?

* * *

A/N: I know, I know I promise a happy ending though!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Okay so I know it's been absolutely forever since I updated. School has been so so so crazy. Almost done though! I'm halfway through the next chapter so hopefully I'll post that one soon too. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych :(

* * *

When Juliet woke up around eleven, Lassiter was already gone. Nonetheless, she padded around the house searching for him, disappointed he hadn't woken her before he left. The pillow and blanket he had used the night before were folded neatly on the couch, and there was an omelet in the refrigerator wrapped up for her. Even at his angriest moments he still thought of her.

But Juliet wasn't hungry. She thought back to the events of the night before, they had come so close to crossing that line. It both frightened and excited her. Juliet shook her head. It was this case that was doing this to them. Once they were back in Santa Barbara everything would go back to normal. She didn't want to have to deal with the aftermath of a messy relationship at work. But then again, what if it wasn't messy? Things with Carlton had seemed just right, and surprisingly not awkward at all. She smiled when she thought of the omelet again. He really loved her, she knew.

As she was pondering their future together, she heard her cell go off upstairs. She rushed up to answer it smiling when she saw her partner's name on the ID.

"Carlton?"

"O'Hara. Just got news from forensics, they found a print on the body."

Juliet frowned. They weren't going to talk about things between them.

"Yeah? Did they get an ID?"

"That's the thing, they did get a match. It's Jared Monmouth's."

"What? It's probably from earlier then, you know they were friends."

"No, they ruled that out," he said gruffly. "This was right over a bruise on the body."

Juliet's eyes widened. How could Jared have had anything to do with this? He was such a sweet guy.

"Okay," she began, "So what's going down"

"They're bringing him in now, meet me in the station in 10? And you don't have to come in the costume, they're pretty sure its him. Turns out he was having an affair with Jeanette and Marie. And he was the one who got Lisa pregnant."

Juliet clasped a hand over her mouth. She couldn't believe Jared would do this to Susan. He had seemed like the perfect husband when she met him.

"Okay, I just need to get dressed."

"Copy that," he said and hung up the phone.

She hurried upstairs and donned her suit, it felt right to dress in her work clothes. But also somewhat disappointing. Their time playing house was over, and now she'd have to face what had happened between them at work.

30 minutes later Juliet pulled up at the precinct and hurried inside. Lassiter was standing outside the interrogation room.

"Have you gone in yet?" He shook his head.

"Figured we should go in together, after all we'll be blowing our cover." She nodded.

"Let's go."

As they entered the room, Jared looked both surprised and elated that someone he recognized was coming into the room.

"Brad? Allison? What are you doing here?" He looked back and forth between the two of them, his expression increasingly filling with worry.

"Jared, I'm sorry you have to find out this way but we aren't who we say we are. I'm Detective Carlton Lassiter of the Santa Barbara Police Department, this is my partner Juliet O'Hara."

"Wait," Jared began. "You're cops? Are you still actually married?'

Lassiter shook his head. Jared's eyes widened.

"Susan swore that you two were so in love. She wished we could be like you." Juliet resisted glancing at her partner as she filled with a mixture of embarrassment and pain.

"Where were you last night, between the hours of 10 PM and 2 AM?" Lassiter began.

Jared looked at him, wide-eyed, and then back at Juliet.

"Wait, what? What do you mean? I'm a suspect!?"

"Just answer the question, Jared." Juliet was surprised at how shaky her voice had come out. For the first time, Lassiter gave her a meaningful look instead of the cold stares she had been treated to over the last few minutes.

For a moment, Jared was silent. He continued to glace back and forth between Lassiter and Juliet.

Juliet watched as her partner placed both of his palms on the table and leaned forward closer to Jared's face. She could see the beads of sweat running down Jared's temples. Lassiter was sure they had got the guy.

"I, um. You guys left at about 9 and then I helped Susan clean up the kitchen and we went to bed." Jared stammered.

Lassiter began to circle the table while Juliet leaned against the wall and watched her partner work.

"And I suppose you have Susan to back this up?" Jared nodded vehemently.

"So then, why were you having an affair with Cara Logan?"

"I, uh," Jared began.

"And Jeanette Roth, and Marie Kendall, and apparently you were the father of Lisa Taylor's baby."

Jared gulped.

"Alright man, look. I'm a dick, I sleep around. But I love Susan, and I loved Lisa. I would never hurt anyone."

Lassiter threw the file on the table.

"You have two boys, a wife who loves you and a baby on the way you lying piece of shit. You really expect me to believe that it wasn't you behind these murders?"

Jared collapsed on the table in tears. Juliet watched as her partner leaned back and rubbed his temples. He hated when they cried, but she secretly believed he got some secret satisfaction out of interrogating people until this point. After all, he was the best at this, next to Shawn Spencer's unorthodox ways of course.

Softly, Juliet reached out and touched Carlton's arm. When he turned, she motioned to the door, hoping she could get a private moment with him. He nodded and followed her into the hallway.

"I don't think he did it," she whispered. Lassiter's eyes widened.

"Excuse me? That lying cheating bastard who was sleeping with ALL of the murder victims is innocent?!"

"I'm not saying he isn't an asshole," Juliet began, "But that doesn't make him a murderer. He's not the type."

Lassiter just shook his head and stalked quickly to his desk flipping open the case file once more. Instead of following him like she usually would, Juliet merely crossed her arms over her chest tightly and watched him read. He would come back to her when he was ready, she was sure. Things would go back to normal.

* * *

But they didn't. The precinct held Jared overnight but were then forced to release him because of a lack of hard evidence. Lassiter was furious. He barely spoke to her, not even about the case, choosing instead to bury himself in the case files trying to find an answer.

Soon, Juliet turned to their other cases as a way to relieve tension, but still there was no snapping Carlton out of his funk.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I know I promised to update a while ago but life got in the way. Anyway, hope you like this!

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych etc etc etc.

* * *

It had been five weeks since Jared had been released, and the case had yet to be solved. They had refused to let Shawn and Gus get involved, Lassiter was adamant that no amount of psychic talent would take this case away from him. Shawn finally backed down when Juliet intervened. Eventually, the Chief pushed the detectives into new cases, but Lassiter and Juliet never gave up on the string of murders in the quiet community.

It was just an ordinary Thursday night when Lassiter finally made a breakthrough. Carlton jumped from his desk at 9 PM just as Juliet was returning to her own work space with some chamomile tea. He shouted with glee and swept Juliet into a quick hug. The movement earned stares from the handful of officers left working that evening, but Lassiter didn't care. The case had been interfering with his life entirely too much over the last two months.

Though distracted by Carlton's sudden show of affection, Juliet was more curious as to what he had discovered that was so momentous.

"What is it Carlton?" She asked, once he had stopped breathing heavily.

"Security cameras!" He declared, and waved a piece of paper in the air. Juliet was puzzled.

"The Monmouth's have a security system, which apparently includes a front door camera. We just never noticed it before. We will be able to see if Jared left the house that night!"

Juliet smiled, hoping the Monmouth's hadn't removed the tapes already.

"I'll apply for the warrant!" Carlton declared, and hurried down the hall.

Happy to hopefully be putting this case behind them, Juliet watched quietly as Carlton sauntered around the corner towards the Chief's office.

* * *

Luckily for the detectives, neither Susan nor Jared Monmouth had remembered about the security camera on their front porch, solidifying the importance of this new evidence. After going through seemingly unending segments of digital footage released by the security monitoring company, Juliet and Lassiter finally found the night in question.

In anticipation of the mountain of work that was ahead of them, Lassiter had brought popcorn and beer to their viewing. As they sat in the darkened Chief's office and watched Susan Monmouth enter the house with grocery bags, Juliet felt nostalgic about their time as a fake married couple. Suddenly, she really wished she could have found out what her partner was like in bed. There had been real chemistry between them, and in Juliet's opinion it had totally gone to waste. Juliet began to think that perhaps she had had one too many beers.

Her reverie was broken when they were interrupted by the chief, who came to see what was going on.

"What's this again?" she inquired, waving at the television.

"Security footage of the Monmouth house," Lassiter said in between mouthfuls of popcorn. The Chief nodded.

It was then that Juliet remembered the kiss on the doorstep of the Monmouth house before they had gone to dinner. And it was coming up on the tape. She tried to catch her partner's attention to somehow stop the tape and get the chief out of there but he was too happily immersed in finding the culprit. Subtly waving her hands wasn't working to catch his eye, and when they appeared finally on the Monmouth doorstep in the tape Lassiter's blank expression swiftly morphed into one of terror, but it was already too late. They exchanged quick glances of horror and waited for the chief's reaction.

"Well, at least we know it's the right night," the chief began. "Why are you two taking so long to knoo…WHAT?" Juliet and Lassiter had begun making out on the tiny screen. The partner's hung their heads in shame and waited to be chewed out by the chief.

But they only got silence.

"I'm just going to leave now," she finally said. "And for the record, as long as I don't have to see anything like this anymore I don't care what the two of you do together. For christs' sakes perhaps Lassiter'll be more pleasant if he actually gets laid." And with that she let the door bang shut behind her.

The office was filled with an awkward silence then, as they watched themselves enter the Monmouth home. When the target time had finally come up on the tapes, the silence was broken when Lassiter pulled his chair up closer, waiting for something to happen on the tape. At 12:30 AM on the tape, they finally saw a figure sneak out of the house carrying a black duffle bag.

Juliet leaned closer to try to make out who it was. When the figure turned towards the camera to pull the door shut behind them, Juliet and Lassiter gasped in unison as they recognized Susan Monmouth pulling a ski mask over her face.

* * *

They had been in the squad car out to the Monmouth home for over fifteen minutes before Lassiter finally spoke.

"It all makes sense you know," Juliet snapped her head around from the window.

"What does?"

"Susan, she was jealous of her friends, and angry at her husband for cheating. I don't know why I didn't think of it before."

Juliet put her hand on his forearm and gently rubbed.

"It's okay partner, I didn't think of it either. I'm just glad we can finally put this case to bed." She withdrew her hand and Lassiter nodded.

"You know, I was thinking," he began. "Maybe sometime we could, you know, have dinner. And not talk about work."

Juliet was speechless. Was her partner actually asking her out on a date? Did that mean he was willing to forgo their partnership in favor of an actual relationship? Or maybe he was just being friendly and wanted to celebrate the end of this case.

Finally, she managed to respond, noticing that her partner's hands had tightened on the steering wheel as he waited for a reply.

"Um, like a date?" Lassiter looked only somewhat alarmed.

"Well, no, not if you don't want it to be." Juliet's eyes widened. So he had intended for it to be a date.

"What if I said I wanted it to be?" She inquired, knowing full well this was pushing some very new boundaries. To her great surprise, Lassiter smiled.

"Then I would say that you've made me very happy, because those were my original intentions." Juliet beamed.

"It's a date then."

* * *

The gate to Selwyn Village looked all too familiar and Juliet's stomach churned as the memories of their brief stay flooded back. The walk to the Monmouth's front door elicited stronger feelings, and by the time Lassiter was reaching for the doorbell Juliet's face was flushed. She let her partner cuff Susan, and load her former friend in the car while she hung back and attempted to console Jared. He blamed himself of course, and there was nothing Juliet could say to placate him.

Susan quickly confessed, and the case was finally wrapped up. When Juliet should have felt relief, only sadness came. She had bonded with Susan, and had never imagined that she would be a killer. She reminded herself that it had been a difficult case, and there would be many ahead for her. What she had to focus on was instead her upcoming date with Lassiter.

* * *

The weekend after Susan Monmouth's trial, and conviction, Juliet had agreed to let her partner cook her dinner. She nervously changed her outfit nearly a dozen times before finally settling on a simple blue dress, to match her eyes. She allowed herself one last glance in the mirror before heading off to Lassiter's home.

The evening went rather well. To Juliet's pleasant surprise her partner greeted her not in his typical suit and tie, but rather in jeans and a crisp white button down, covered by an apron with a pattern of miniature revolvers. Juliet giggled at the sentiment. Their conversation was easy, switching between problems at work to smaller personal issues including Juliet's seemingly unending search for a new dishwasher and Carlton's growing frustration with his new neighbors.

As the evening wore on, they found themselves snuggled on Carlton's couch, finishing up a bottle of Pinot Noir and listening to his newest Jazz album. Carlton's lack of experience with women was made up with his keen senses. He knew Juliet was too nervous to make the first move and so he put his glass down, and leaned slowly over to his partner, placing a chaste kiss on her mouth and then pulling back. He waited for Juliet to react, perhaps to smile and kiss him back. But what happened next was unexpected.

Apparently her excitement had gotten the better of her, because before Carlton knew it his partner was straddling his lap and her tongue was pushing against his closed lips. Deciding quickly that they both had waited long enough for this to happen, he quickly granted her access.

Within minutes, Carlton has his partner pinned against the couch and his shirt was laying discarded on the floor. Juliet's dress was undone and Carlton was seconds away from removing the black lace bra she had strategically worn underneath when she pushed him back, breathing heavily.

Carlton panicked, had he done something wrong? Maybe she didn't want this after all. He searched her face.

"Carlton," she began, "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, I'm ready but I don't want to push you." Carlton beamed. In lieu of a response, he merely leaned down and captured her lips in his once more, and pulled the bra the rest of the way down her arms, discarding it with his shirt.

Juliet gasped as he began kissing down her chest while swiftly moving his hands up her thighs under her dress. Carlton smiled as he pressed kisses further and further down, she had seen nothing of his talent just yet.

* * *

The next morning, Juliet woke to sunlight streaming through the windows. She stretched and realized the bed was empty. Frowning she grabbed one of Carlton's discarded shirts and padded into the kitchen. She smiled when she found her partner, in the same stance as he had been just weeks before during their undercover escapade, flipping pancakes on the stove. This time, however, he was dancing along to the radio, completely naked except for the revolver apron. It was then that Juliet knew this relationship would work.

* * *

A/N: I really hope you liked it! There will be an epilogue after this but then that's it. I had so much fun writing this, and thanks again for all of the wonderful reviews! You guys are awesome.


	7. Epilogue

A/N: Okay guys, mixed feelings cause this is the end. I really hope you like it though! Thanks again for all of the reviews You can expect more from me in the future!

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych!

* * *

After a long day of paperwork, Carlton Lassiter was glad to be home. Pulling through the gates of Mermaid Acres he was reminded briefly of the momentous case he had worked with his partner just a few years ago. He shook his head putting that week out of his head and focusing on what was waiting for him at home; a wife who loved him and a new baby. Carlton smiled pulling into the driveway of their home.

When he had deposited his jacket and briefcase, he wandered into the kitchen where he found his beautiful wife, making him dinner and wearing his favorite revolver apron. She flashed him a wide smile and offered him a taste of the sauce she had made. Carlton accepted, and then kissed her slowly and sweetly before turning his attention to the bassinet positioned across the room.

Sleeping soundly there was their baby girl, the most beautiful little creature he had ever seen. She had soft curls and piercing blue eyes that matched his. In her hands she clutched the stuffed pineapple that he had reluctantly accepted from Shawn Spencer as a baby gift. She couldn't sleep without the thing, and Carlton was not pleased. He brushed his hand over her hair, careful not to wake her.

Carlton then swiftly made his way to the bedroom and changed into a t-shirt and jeans, a requirement of his wife's who was tired of looking at his suits (no matter how nice they were). By the time he had made his way back downstairs he was beckoned to the table where he enjoyed a fantastic meal and shared stories with his wife.

Afterwards, the pair cleaned the kitchen up, and Carlton gave the baby a bedtime bottle and took her upstairs to bed. When he came down again, his wife was nowhere to be found. Smiling, Carlton descended the stairs to the basement where she was waiting with the dartboard set up, beer in hand.

"Ellie down for the night?" she inquired. He nodded flashing the baby monitor to her. She handed him a beer and a handful of darts, then kissed him soundly (no doubt to offset his game) but he responded nevertheless. She broke away, turned and threw a dart to the perfect center of the board, and then cheered for herself sticking her tongue out at him.

As he watched her blonde hair swish as she giggled and went to add her points to the tally board, Carlton knew that marrying his partner had been the best decision he had ever made.

The End!


End file.
